Monday, February 9, 2009

The recent tragedy that has hit Victoria was in the form of bush fires. Irrespective of the alleged allegations that they could have been started by a disturbed individual, one of the prime concerns at the moment is to REBUILD peoples lives.

Many businesses have pledged to donate $1,000,000 for aid towards the reconstruction of destroyed homes, and getting people back on track.

Companies in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, like David Jones have pledged to give $500,000 in David Jones vouchers. Since in the clothing industry, as common mark up figure of 500% is acknowledged, a further insult to injury is the DJ only will donate $100,000 of their REAL money.

Another lame effort by Telstra is that they are only offering initially $500,000.

Telstra's profit for 2008 was in the vicinity of $4,000,000,000 on par with the banks like NAB,who have pledged to donate more.

Aaahhhh Sol, maybe you should have a good hard look at yourself in the mirror, and not on your outdated 3G mobile, that 3 introduced to Australia 2 years before you did.

VHA will market its products and services under the existing Vodafone brand, and retain the exclusive rights to the 3 brand, which is owned by Hutchison, during the transition period and thereafter.

Vodafone will receive a deferred payment of $500 million from VHA to equalise the value difference between the merging companies.

Vodafone Group chief executive Vittorio Colao said VHA would be a strong competitor in Australia's mobile market.

"This transaction will benefit customers in Australia as it creates a company with the necessary scale to compete strongly in the mobile market," Mr Colao said in a statement.

"This is an important step in the transformation of the Australian mobile industry."

Completion of the transaction is expected mid-year, subject to the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board, clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the approval of Hutchison Telecommunications (Aust) shareholders.

Hutchison's board has unanimously recommended the transaction.

The merged entity will have approximately six million customers and a combined total revenue of approximately $4 billion for the year ended June 30, 2008.

VHA will have at least 95 per cent coverage of the population, 63 per cent of which will have access to 3G services, the companies said.

Earnings per share for both Vodafone and Hutchison Australia are expected to be enhanced by the deal, the companies said.

A spokeswoman for Hutchison Australia said the company would remain committed to its listing on the ASX.

VHA will be headed by current Hutchison Australia chief executive Nigel Dews, while Vodafone CEO Russell Hewitt will be a non-executive director.

Vodafone's CEO of Asia-Pacific and Middle East Nick Read will be VHA's chairman, and current Vodafone chief financial officer Dave Boorman will be VHA's CFO.

Hutchison Australia is expected to hold an extraordinary general meeting in April to enable a shareholder vote on the merger.

money.ninemsn.com 9 Feb 2009

The myth of competition is becoming a reality with acquisitions of this nature.The petrol industry in Australia is a duopoly, and the banking sector is closing in as well.The public transport system in Melbourne / Victoria is a MONOLPOLY.